“I’m just a small business owner in their town, so who cares if I’m okay in the end?
Tiffany Elton’s old house still smells like it was on fire. Cutting holes in the drywall reveals charred wood, which gives off a smell that Elton has always known was there.
“I don’t need a puffer anymore,” she said, explaining that since she moved out, her breathing has gotten better. It’s a bright spot in a situation that is otherwise pretty bad.
“I live in the basement of my mom’s house. I also run a business, which means I do a lot of work from home. So things have been a little hard there, and she wants her TV room back someday.”
Elton has to stay in her 776-square-foot house in the middle of St. John’s. She can’t live in it, she can’t sell it to someone else to live in, and she doesn’t have enough money or a cheap builder to tear it down. This leaves her with few options.
“Seeing your house like this hurts. I sold them, just like I sold all the kitchen cabinets. They have left. She said, “I’ve been taking the doors off, just dumping everything out, and selling whatever I can, piece by piece.”
- Here’s where you can read the original CBC Investigates report:When a house doesn’t feel like a home
Elton bought the house on Summer Street for $168,000 in July 2020. The next spring, she found a hole in the front of her house. This led her on a frustrating mission to find out more, which is still going on.
In January 2022, a CBC News investigation found that Elton’s house used to be a double-car garage that had burned down and then been turned into a house by putting new drywall over the burned walls.
The property was sold as a home years ago, even though the city had never inspected it after it was turned into a home. Since the 1980s, it had changed hands more than once, and the city had been collecting property tax on what it thought was a home.
When Elton told the city about the problem, she got a long list of notices of fines. The house can’t be lived in because it doesn’t have an occupancy certificate.
“I want it knocked down. “I think the city should have to tear it down because they are the ones who got me into this mess,” Elton said.
In 1986, the owners asked the city council for permission to turn the garage into a home. The city council at the time agreed.
But there is no record that the city ever got an application for a permit to do that work or inspected the property after it was turned into a home.
Even though it is clear that there was a fire at the property, the city has no record of it. The only time a permit was asked for by the city was in 2006, when the windows and siding were changed.
Since the city never got a request for a permit to work on the property, there is no record of an inspection or an occupancy permit being given.
WATCH |In the original CBC Investigates report, Tiffany Elton talks about how shocked she was to learn the truth about her new home:
In January, Joe Thorne, Elton’s lawyer, sent a letter to the city asking them to tear down the house for her.
“Many of these problems can be blamed on other people, but the city is also to blame in some ways,” Thorne wrote.
“The cost of the demolition work is a big deal for Ms. Elton, but it wouldn’t be much for the city.”
Request denie
The city said no because it didn’t meet the criteria it has for demolishing a building, such as when it is condemned or becomes a public nuisance.
“Further, the city denies that it was careless or that it gave false information. In a letter to Elton’s lawyer, a city lawyer said, “As was said before, no permits were ever asked for or given for any work at 11 Summer St., except for windows in or around 2006.”
“The city did not know that the property had been changed in such a big way.All compliance letters say that an inspection of the property is not done when a request is made.Your client can make any claim she wants, but the city will fight hard against any claim in this case.”
The City of St. John’s didn’t say anything about it.
“My city has been dragging me through this for three years, and I feel like they are treating me like I did this, even though I didn’t. It feels sneaky. Elton said, “I feel like they’re putting the blame on me when it was their fault.”
“What kills me is that I’m just a small business owner in their town. Who cares if I’m okay in the end? It’s their money that they’re trying to keep safe, and I think it’s a matter of principle for them. It would be like admitting fault to get me out of this situation.”
About $20,000 will be needed to tear down 11 Summer St.
Elton could be sued if she leaves the property, since her home insurance company dropped her because it’s not really a home.
“I still have to take care of it. I still have to pay property taxes on it, so as long as it stands, it worries and stresses me out.”
Thorne was able to get Elton to settle with title insurance to get rid of the mortgage, which was the opposite of what had been decided before.
Court too costl
Elton thought about taking the former owner and other people to court.
She found that a duct for a propane stove had been cut through the burned wood in the living room. This shows that the person who put in the stove knew the house had been in a fire. But she has been told that taking the case to court would be very expensive.
“And if you take it to court, you have to bring everyone who was involved,” she said.
In an email to CBC News last year, the previous owner said that in the 10 years they had owned the home, they had never heard of any problems.
At age 42, Elton has spent all of her savings and has nowhere to live. She is now trying to sell the house in its current state so that someone can tear it down.
“This is your biggest purchase, and you can’t get out of it. Elton said, “There’s no way out.”
“No one has that much money saved up to go to court to solve the problem. So no matter what you buy, you have to live with it.”
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